Farewell, Breakfast at Tiffany’s on Broadway

In memoriam of Breakfast at Tiffany’s on Broadway- Final curtain April 21th, 2013

by Tre Roberts

It seemed like only yesterday that Richard Greenburg showed us the reimagined first glimpses of Truman Capote’s beloved novel about an unattainable girl with a penchant for powder rooms. In what was predicted to be one of the highlights of the Broadway season, Breakfast at Tiffany’s has followed in the footsteps of shows like High Fidelity, Lolita and Carrie. With the caliber and number of stars connected to the production, attendees may have thought that they were reading astrological charts instead of their prerequisite playbills and the audiences ripe with celebrities like Joan Rivers should have been a sure fire indicator of the shows inevitable success but alas Breakfast at Tiffany’s gives its last curtain call today, April 21st, a mere month after it’s official opening at the Cort Theater.

Emilia Clarke, the normally flaxen haired heroine best known for bellowing about the loss of her dragons on HBO’s wildly popular Game of Thrones, helmed the production as the iconic Holly Golightly. Though incredibly charming in the role there’s very little any actress, past, present or future, could do to set themselves apart when unavoidably compared to iconoclast Audrey Hepburn who originally gave the character life in the 1961 film of the same name. Despite the petite yet cavernous alligator stilettos that Clarke was tasked with filling, I felt that her work was admirable and above all entertaining. The plays male lead, Cory Michael Smith, brought a ballsy vivacious quality to “Fred” that I truly enjoyed. The nuances of the character’s life and perspective are often overshadowed when Breakfast at Tiffany’s is discussed but his performance captured the naiveté, obsession, growth and ultimately desperation inherent within the character.

A guest spot from George Wendt of Cheers fame, costumes by the incomparable Colleen Atwood and a little unexpected nudity should have been those extra little “oomphs” that elevated this play, at the very least, to tourist “must see” status but here we are, saying farewell to Ms. Holiday Golightly once again.

Many have tried to recreate the magic that was Audrey Hepburn and Truman Capote’s masterpiece without success; perhaps Holly was warning imitators and those who lack original ideas when she says that a wild thing can’t be tamed. Let’s all take her advice and move on.

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The Rose that Grew from Concrete

Did you hear about the rose that grew
from a crack in the concrete?
Proving nature's law is wrong it
learned to walk with out having feet.
Funny it seems, but by keeping it's dreams,
it learned to breathe fresh air.
Long live the rose that grew from concrete
when no one else ever cared.
-Tupac Shakur